BBC News Interview 07/02/2018
Kevin Green discussing his views on Bitcoin and Crypto-currencies in general on BBC News – 07/02/2018
KEVIN SCALES NEW HEIGHTS FOR CARERS TRUST
KEVIN SCALES NEW HEIGHTS FOR CARERS TRUST
Carers Trust supporter Kevin Green has made another generous donation to support the charity’s work with unpaid carers across the UK.
Kevin, who went from being homeless to become a multi-millionaire, now shares his advice on how to become wealthy by delivering seminars all over the world.
And it was while planning to host a wealth seminar in Singapore that he threw down the challenge of raising funds for Carers Trust by inviting his participants to take part in the Kevin Green Wealth Challenge.
The participants, who had come from all over the world, couldn’t resist the challenge of an energetic climb up Mount Faber. At the top they rang the traditional ‘bell of happiness’ before coming back down to earth with a thrilling zip wire onto the sands below.
Among the participants was “Homes Under the Hammer” presenter Martin Roberts and the challenge raised a mammoth £41,600 for Carers Trust.
This latest challenge now brings the total that Kevin has raised for Carers Trust over the past two years to an amazing £100,000. It includes a spectacular dinner, he hosted with Carers Trust patron HRH The Princess Royal.
Giles Meyer, interim CEO of Carers Trust said:
“This was a spectacular way to raise money for carers and Kevin and the group had an amazing adventure while helping to bring in a huge amount of money to help the many carers who are working tirelessly to care for a sick or disabled family member or friend. We really do appreciate it.”
Kevin added:
“As a former young carer myself, caring for my sister, Julie, before she passed away, I really appreciate and resonate with all that Carers Trust provides and love giving back to a fantastic charity that helps so many carers.”
From Carers Trust
To view the Carers Trust Charity and their press release click here
I received a lovely email received from one of my favourite Charities today (16th June 2017). In it they thanked me for some donations we have made over the past couple of years, and I have to say from the bottom of my heart, I thank you, Carers Trust for the tireless work you do, and it is my pleasure to continue to support such a worthy cause.
Perseverance beats the poverty trap
Doggedness is a word which hardly seems to begin to describe British mega-landlord Kevin Green.
As a Nuffield student, he wangled his way into an interview with Virgin’s Richard Branson by finding his address and knocking on his door until he was home.
He also doorstopped Microsoft founder Bill Gates by flying to Las Vegas and posing as a reporter at an electronics convention.
Green wanted to interview both men because he felt they had something to teach him beyond what he knew as a dairy farmer. And the property market was where he found his niche.
Green, who has featured on British television series Secret Millionaire, is in New Zealand for a wedding and a public address in Auckland on Wednesday.
With a property portfolio worth $144 million, he is said to be one of Britain’s biggest residential landlords, as well as the owner of several unrelated businesses and a registered building society.
Having his own bank helps lower his funding costs, he admits, but it’s a far cry from the late 1990s when he stepped out to buy his first property, and then another 79.
“I’m the type of person that if you’re going to do it, you’re gonna do it properly and hit it hard,” he says.
For the first year, he drank no alcohol and averaged four to five hours’ sleep a night as he established his rental business.
Banks were happy to lend to him because of his formula – buy three properties, hold two and sell one.
“The fact I was trading quite strongly alongside holding was showing my ability to clear capital debt. A mistake a lot of investors make is they don’t ever sell . . . but that stagnates the borrowing capacity that you’ve got.
“It keeps the lenders happy.”
Green holds a number of other principles. He runs several simple businesses with high cashflow to complement his property interests.
He buys properties for cashflow rather than capital gain, adds value and clears the mortgages. His ideal yield is at least 4 per cent above the mortgage interest rate.
“It’s not necessarily the number of properties that you own . . . it’s the amount of money that each property’s producing in profit for you.”
Green also never remortgages a property. Any gearing beyond 60 per cent is viewed as unsustainable by banks, he says.
When it comes to the New Zealand property market, Green says Auckland and even Wellington’s rental yields appear to be rising quite strongly, but investors should be prepared for a cyclical downturn.
“There will be a property crash at some stage.”
Green says he saw the 2008 British property crash coming when house prices far outstripped annual salaries. A normal UK ratio of home affordability is that it takes six years of median income to buy one house, but it rose to nearly eight during the height of the boom.
New Zealand’s ratio is 5.7 years, according to the recent Demographia housing affordability survey. “In any other historic markets, if the house price-salary ratio goes out of line it has to be corrected, and this is why I would be very wary of the New Zealand market, although it’s very strong at the moment.”
Green avoided the British crash by ensuring half of his portfolio was in shared housing, which mitigated much of the risk of having houses untenanted.
Rents increased and prices dropped, enabling him to snap up bargains.
“We’d also by that point in time got our own lending business in place so I could decide what interest rate I charged myself each day, which was linked to how much I could buy the money in for.”
Green might be worth a bit now, but the Welshman has known poverty after running away from home as a teenager.
After several months of homelessness, he found himself a job as a dairy manager, and in two years was running three farms. He later won a Nuffield rural leaders scholarship because he didn’t want to be milking cows all his life.
“So I won a Nuffield to study the attitudes and personalities of achievers in business, with a view to answering my own question as well: what I am going to do next?”
Branson, he said, was out of town when he door-knocked his house the first three times.
But his persistence paid off and Branson even agreed to mentor him.
Gates was not giving interviews, but Green managed to find out where he was appearing and bluffed his way into the press room as a reporter for the “Nuffield News”.
After waiting for several hours he pounced on Gates at the Microsoft stand. “He answered six of my questions straight away and then passed me on to his PA, who then said to me, ‘email the rest of them and I’ll get it sorted for you’. Which he did.”
Green believes having a good role model or mentor is crucial to gaining the self-confidence to move ahead. “One of the turning points for me was with Sir Richard when he said, ‘if you recognise qualities in an individual that you admire, that means you already possess those qualities yourself’.”
– © Fairfax NZ News
Source – https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/8229750/Perseverance-beats-the-poverty-trap
Conwy Intensive Business Boot Camp Success With Secret Millionaire
A multi millionaire inspired a new generation of business hopefuls at an intensive business boot camp. An initiative of Conwy Rural Business Support, the Business Boot Camp at Glasdir rural development centre in Llanrwst ― the first of its kind ― was hailed an outstanding success by CRBS project officer Anna Openshaw.
‘Secret Millionaire’ star Kevin Green, a dyslexic and homeless runaway in 1984, is now the UK’s largest residential property landlord, with 648 properties. With his Aston Martin parked outside Glasdir, he told about 150 business hopefuls: “Forget recession. It only exists in your mind.”
Nikki Edwards, who set up her Crafty Kitten modelling business in Station Road, Llanrwst, only 18 months ago, found him inspirational. “I make handmade gifts out of polymer clay and sell craft materials. My grandmother bought me my first polymer clay when I was seven and by the time I was 12 I said I would make a business out of it. My dad laughed, but he’s not laughing now,” said Nikki.
With customers in Germany, USA, Netherlands, Sweden and other countries, Nikki’s business, started about 18 months ago, has gone global since she started using facebook around 12 months ago, which allows her to show customers the products on line.
“My order book is already half full and I may have to close it in the next couple of weeks and then I will be working 15 to 16 hours a day.
“I want to get kids crafting again. I’m fed up seeing kids wandering around staring into their mobiles and playing with electronic games, I want them to see the joy of making things. I run a lot of workshops and craft events at the shop which are bringing people into the area.”
It was also a good day for Anglesey IT worker Craig Hughes who was handed a gift worth more than £3,000 for putting his hand up first. When Kevin Green asked the delegates a question, Craig was the first to put his hand up and was rewarded with an invite to attend one of Kevin Green’s much sought-after high-powered business motivation courses in South Wales ― which normally cost over £3,000. Other delegates were also invited to sign up for the course for just £20 as Kevin’s gift to North Wales business hopefuls.
Craig, from Trearddur Bay, works for the Wales Co-operative Centre’s Communities 2.0, which is the Welsh Government’s flagship digital inclusion programme. Craig is an IT worker covering Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd, who provides IT advice and guidance for community groups and social enterprises. “He’s an amazing speaker. He just commands attention and is so inspirational,” said Craig.
A delighted Anna Openshaw said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support and interest shown in the business boot camp. This is the first we have done, but hopefully this has been such a great success we would like to do it again.
“We have had some brilliant feedback from the companies that attended, saying how inspiring and how helpful the event had been. They had all learned something useful that they could apply to their own businesses that would help improve what they do and how they do it, with the aim of boosting their bottom line.”
Hard work, self belief and not being ‘distracted’ was the message throughout the day from Llanelli-based Kevin Green. He said: “I had a job once. I think it stands for ‘Just Over Broke’!
“Identify what your passion is in life and make it your living. If you chase money it will run away from you. Chase what is true to you. Only one person is going to make a difference in your life, and that is you.”
Among the other role models who conducted workshops were Gareth Jones, MD of St Asaph based energy saving experts Carbon Zero, and Steven Burgess, a former weapons and bomb disposal expert from Wrexham, who has set up his own consultancy company, Proactionman Limited, to help motivate and train people to start up their own business with little cash.
Gareth told his audience: “All newcomers need to be pro-active; no more 9 to 5 any more. Learn to communicate through emails, texts, twitter and build relationships. Remember, customers first and they are always right ― even if they’re not.
“Likely problems newcomers will encounter include finance to start the business in the first place, going into business with the wrong people, getting credit and an overdraft facility, getting regular money to pay staff and contractors, insurance policies with no previous history, premises, business loans and balancing work and home life.
“My secret tips to getting business? You are only as good as your last job. Join an organisation but get involved. Network, network and network. Get your customers to recommend you to others. PR does work. Create an aura around your business and finally, graft!”
Steve Burgess told his workshop: “What you need in business is discipline, being focussed on the task ahead, keeping business and personal debt to a minimum and not being distracted by everyday goings on like the internet (a great research tool though), news, gossip and negative stuff that is detrimental to your success.
“Fortitude, when times are tough and you need to rely on yourself rather than just expecting a pay cheque at the end of the month. Dedication to learning, because by increasing your skill base you push the boundaries of your minds. Plan your route, set goals. Accept responsibility for your own lives and strive for positivity.”
For more information about the free support and advice that’s available to small businesses in rural Conwy contact Anna Openshaw either by emailing conwyruralpartnership@conwy.gov.uk or ringing 01492 577834/5.
From homeless to millionaire – and still proud of his local roots
MOST millionaires will have a story or two worth sharing.
But surely not many can equal Carmarthenshire’s Kevin Green.
After growing up on the dairy farm his family owned in Ferryside, he found himself living on the streets after a bitter falling out with his dad.
He picked himself up and, with a little inspiration from the likes of Bill Gates and Richard Branson, today is a multi-millionaire property developer and social entrepreneur.
Back in 1988 the now 49-year-old found himself without a roof over his head.
He had left home after falling out with his father about how the family farm could be run.
“I told him to stick his farm and ran away from home,” he said.
Kevin made his way to the West Country, where he found himself living out on the streets for several months.
He is also dyslexic, so says circumstances were not always on his side.
“Things were stacked against me,” he explained.
He said after a few months of feeling sorry for himself he decided it was time to get work.
He went back to farming roots and secured a job in farm management at a dairy farm.
In just two years he was running three farms.
Then he took his first steps towards becoming one of the UK’s largest residential property landlords after winning the Nuffield Scholarship in agriculture at Gelli Aur College, Llandeilo, in 1999.
With the scholarship he studied the personalities of high achievers, which led him to interviewing business heavyweights, such as Mr Gates and Mr Branson.
“They are the people who influence me,” he said.
Kevin said one thing which Richard Branson said to him in the interview has stuck with him.
He said: “If you recognise qualities in other individuals, you too possess those qualities.”
Kevin said he ended up going into business for himself because he does not like working for anyone else.
“I’m a bit of a control freak and I like owning things.
“I wanted to be a millionaire, so I had security for my children.
“I found myself homeless and know what it is like not being able put food on my plate and don’t want them to experience that,” he explained.
Kevin started off by buying properties and says the rest is history.
He said the biggest challenge has been self-belief.
“A big challenge for me was not having enough self-belief. We all think we cannot do it, but I had to prove it to myself.
“Building that business was proof I could do it even when I had been put down.”
His advice to those wanting to start a successful business is to identify a hobby and turn it into a living.
He said people starting a business must love it and be doing it for themselves.
“I love what I do,” he said.
He said another factor behind his driven personality was the death of his younger sister, when he was 22.
“I would not have been a multi-millionaire if it had not been for that. She did not have a choice.
“When she died I realised that family was too important and I thought I had better make amends with dad.”
This led to Kevin looking after the family farm for a time.
He said family continues to be an extremely important part of his life and he has three children, Llinos, 18, Carwyn, 16, and Emyr, 14.
He has not forgotten his time on the streets and does his bit for homeless charities across the country.
In Carmarthenshire, he takes an active role in helping the Wallwich housing charity.
He has provided more than 300 homes for the homeless.
“It is a win, win situation and I get to help people.
“It is more difficult than a standard rental, but I’m giving something back.”
The first time many will have heard of Kevin was when he appeared on Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire.
It saw him visit Barnstaple in North Devon, which has a high level of homelessness.
As part of the show Kevin gifted £20,000 to an outreach project for the homeless.
“I support the homeless, especially after what happened to me.
“Most people have got a story and there is a good reason why they are there.”
The dad-of-three is also an ambassador of the Make A Wish foundation and has gifted more than £500,000 to the cause over the past four years.
Kevin said he wanted to get involved in the charity because of his sister’s death and his personal experience of bereavement.
As well as his property business he now spends a lot of time travelling the world and speaking at conferences and seminars.
Just this month he shared a stage with former American president Bill Clinton in London, after helping to raise money for the Clinton Foundation.
“I’ve been told I’m a very good speaker and have found myself in these great situations.
“It is a great feeling, to have people I used to look up to and now to be rubbing shoulders with them.”
The social entrepreneur is also helping others get into business and is supporting the Entrepreneurship Academy Wales.
Kevin also said he likes people to know he’s Welsh.
“I speak Welsh and it is nice to say I’m Welsh.
“And I’m proud I’m from Carmarthenshire.”
Kevin Green shares the stage with former US President Bill Clinton
South Wales millionaire and entrepreneur Kevin Green has spoken of his delight at sharing the stage with former US President Bill Clinton at a major UK business conference.
The Entrepreneurs 2012 four-day intensive business conference attracted an audience of more than 10,000 to London’s ExCel arena, with 3,000 packed into the hall for Clinton’s keynote address.
“Obviously, it was one of the biggest events I’ve done in my role as a motivational and business speaker,” said Kevin.
“The running order went from Bill Clinton, former US President, straight to Kevin Green, millionaire and entrepreneur.
“Not bad, I thought . . . having Bill Clinton as your warm-up man!” Kevin joked.
“As you would expect Clinton’s speech was very inspirational. The guy arrived with a massive security entourage and there is a real aura about him as a speaker.
“Without a doubt, he is the biggest draw in the world at the moment in terms of public speaking. I’m very proud of the fact that I was invited to speak at the event.”
Kevin added: “As you would expect, it was a very exciting day for me, but not without its hiccups. Clinton brought some very sophisticated audio-visual equipment along for the show and when his kit was disconnected, the music and AV material for my presentation wouldn’t load on the computer equipment. It was a case, of, gulp, what now?
“It was a bit scary at the time, but I carried one doing my thing and the audience reacted well – and we managed to fit in my famous Wealth Dance.
“All in all, it was a great experience and I managed to do my bit to help the former President’s charity, the Clinton Foundation.
“With more than 3,000 people in the audience, I asked everyone to put £10 in the pot, so we raised a few thousands for the Clinton Foundation.
“Later, there was a charity dinner, at which Clinton was the guest of honour.
“The evening saw a charity auction in aid of the Prince’s Trust. I dipped my hand into my own pocket and had a successful auction bid for £5,000 for tickets for the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix, tickets provided by Team Lotus.
“The generous Lotus guys then cash-matched that donation for £5,000, making a total gain of £10,000 for the Prince’s Trust.”
South Wales millionaire and entrepreneur Kevin Green to share stage with Bill Clinton
South Wales millionaire and entrepreneur Kevin Green is to share the stage with Bill Clinton at a major UK business conference on Friday.
Entrepreneurs 2012 is a four-day intensive business conference set to attract an audience of more than 10,000 at London’s ExCel arena.
“It’s a massive event,” said Mr Green.
“And Bill Clinton has top billing as the main speaker in a star-studded line-up which also includes Ruby Wax, Bear Grylls, Kevin Spacey, Levi Roots, Carol Vorderman, Bruce Dickinson and Benedict Cumberbatch.
“I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve been invited to speak on Friday, the big day when former United States President Bill Clinton will be speaking.
“Without a doubt, he is the biggest draw in the world at the moment in terms of public speaking. It promises to be a great occasion and I’m looking forward to sharing the platform with Bill Clinton.”
Weblink – https://www.entrepreneurs2012.co.uk/
Official launch for entrepreneurship academy
27 September 2012
A first-of-its-kind Academy for young entrepreneurs is to be officially launched in Swansea.
The Entrepreneurship Academy Wales will be launched in the presence of Edwina Hart AM on 8 October at the Innovation Foundry (Dylan Thomas Centre.)
The free, one year programme leads to a BTEC qualification in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship and is open to aspiring young business leaders aged between 16 and 19.
The Academy is endorsed by local entrepreneur and ‘Secret Millionaire’ Kevin Green, with further sponsorship support from Euros Jones-Evans (Telesgop), Admiral Insurance, Clive Murphy (Trojan Electronics), Andrew Downie (Netbop), Dave Kieft (RDM Electrical.) A number of other businesses are also getting ready to sign up to sponsor these aspiring entrepreneurs of the future.
“We are passionate about inspiring the next generation of young entrepreneurs from across Wales and are delighted to work alongside our partners to develop the talents of these exceptional young people,” says Sue Poole, Education Enterprise Manager at Gower College Swansea, which is delivering the Academy.
13 students have already signed up for the course, with one young entrepreneur moving down from North Wales to take the course.
Delivered from the Innovation Foundry, the Academy promotes a philosophy of ‘learning by doing’ that sees students working alongside successful entrepreneurs who will also deliver part of the curriculum, completing workshops and masterclasses.
The students will also undertake an internship with business partners and ultimately start their own businesses.
“I, personally, would have benefitted from an initiative like this when I was in school,” says Kevin.
“With a lot of hard work and passion, these students will go on to become the business leaders of tomorrow and I’m very proud to be involved and to be able to lend my support from the earliest stages of the process.
“I am looking forward to working with a brilliant team of passionate and energetic people who will be helping to mentor the youngsters. Working together, I am sure we can create something special in the new Academy.”
Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor should contact Sue Poole on 01792 284000 or email sue.poole@gowercollegeswansea.ac.uk
South Wales entrepreneur Kevin Green to top the bill at major business show
South Wales entrepreneur and millionaire Kevin Green is to top the bill at a ground-breaking South Wales business show.
Green, currently in the news for the new Channel 5 show ‘Secret Interview’ will be the keynote speaker at the first Introbiz business show at Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday, September 27.
Introbiz founder Tracey Jenkins said: “We are delighted to be able to announce Kevin Green as our main speaker for the event.
“The business show has already attracted huge interest across South Wales.
Kevin Green is known as an exceptional business and motivational speaker. He is a big draw in his own right and we are very excited to have him on board as our keynote speaker.
“There’s a real buzz in the business community about this event and more than 60 trade stands have already been booked for the day.”
Green said he was looking forward to the event.
“The Introbiz team are building an excellent reputation for providing successful platforms for business networking. It should be a great event,” he said.
Green’s TV CV includes being featured on Channel Four’s Secret Millionaire and Sky’s The Devil’s Dinner Party, in addition to his appearance on the Secret Interview.
The business show will run from 10am – 3pm and occupy two floors at the stadium.
There will be a networking breakfast from 8am – 9.30am before the opening.
The cost is £10 per person. To register and book your place, email info@introbiz.co.uk
The event will be attended by Welsh sporting celebrities and will help raise
money for the Autism Directory and Mencap Cymru.
Weblinks –
https://www.kevingreen.co.uk/
https://www.introbiz.co.uk/keyevent/Introbiz%20Business%20Show,%20Cardiff%20City%20Stadium.html
